Skip to main content

31 Days: Do Be A Tourist In Your Own City


I have had the opportunity to show several people around the place I call home. The first was my friend who lives in Houston. I didn't know if I could find anything that would impress her in my city, one that is roughly half the size of the one she lives in. But I was wrong. Tulsa wowed her - from its Art Deco architecture to its oil baron mansions, my friend left with a new respect for my hometown. And as I put her on the plane, I had a new respect for it too. Seeing it through her eyes gave me a unique view of it.

The second time I played tour guide was to friends visiting from Canada. Never having spent much time in Canada, except for a couple of hours on the last stop of an Alaskan cruise, I had no idea what to show them to give them a taste of what makes the United States different from their country. We had already visited Tulsa's two museums - one housed in a breathtaking1920s mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens and the other full of Western art in a setting with wonderful vistas - as part of the meeting they came to attend. I had a whole day to leave them with fond memories of their time in Oklahoma. It turns out hospitality was the way to their heart. We had several great meals and spent time in our unique shopping area and I think if given the chance, they'll return to my little part of America.

I was reminded of these experiences as I did some errands downtown today. I needed to buy a new license tag for my car so I visited an agency in the lobby of one of our high-rises. I then remembered that I had a check to deposit and decided to walk the 5 blocks to the bank. It was so invigorating. One, I felt like I lived in a much bigger city, like Chicago, because I was walking instead of getting into my car. I felt like I was part of something living and breathing, not just concrete and steel. And two, I felt like I was seeing my city in a completely different way, like a tourist seeing the beauty of the intricate Art Deco designs and the parks tucked between skyscrapers for the first time.

I fell in love with my hometown all over again today and I hoped that I have the chance to once again show it off to visitors. But until then, I think when I test my bravery and venture out to dine alone, I will find a restaurant downtown so I can feel that excitement again and again - to be a tourist in my own city and take in all it has to offer.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through...
10 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Expect

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at  http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Expect.   I'm going to admit something. When I pray, I expect God to do what I ask. I'd like to think that is a sign of faith but in some ways, it is a sign of arrogance, like I know what is best for me. I picture him up in heaven like the above photo, signalling to the angels and saying like a benevolent Captain Picard, "Make it so." I never stop to think about what's right or worse, what's God's will, I just ask away and expect to be granted my wish. I guess that means I see God as more of a fairy godmother than my heavenly father. It doesn't matter if it is little things like, "Please make the bathtub faucet quit leaking" or "Please make my aunt well." I expect my prayer to be answered. And for things like "Please send...
2 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of...
6 comments
Read more